What We Believe
We hold to the ancient creeds as defining the faith once delivered to the saints. The following creeds (The Apostles' Creed, The Nicene Creed, and The Definition of Chalcedon) are our foundational beliefs. Additionally, our elders hold to the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Christian Religion (with various exceptions) and a variety of memorials that speak to the issues of our day, these can all be found in our Book of Confessions. Additional information about our church is found in our Constitution and Protocols.
The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hades.
On the third day He rose again, from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Definition of Chalcedon
Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.
Our Story
In April of 2020 when the covid scare struck the world churches around the country closed their doors. When our previous church did the same, our founding families decided worshiping together was worth the risk, so we started meeting in our own front yards.
We thought it felt a lot like what the early church must've been like. Meeting in small groups in defiance of the authorities while humbly finding ways to serve each other and our neighbors in the midst of political upheaval. So we decided to go all in a do things they way they did them in the early church.
What does that mean? Well our church service is a bit different than what you might find at most churches. The most obvious difference is that we don't have a sermon. Instead, we did our best to implement what we see in 1 Corinthians 14– everyone has a chance to participate and exercise their gifts for the edification of the body. One of our elders leads the time off with a five to ten minute homily and then we open it up to the body to share what God has spoken to them. The scripture reflection time is concluded by an elder who will synthesize what God said through the body and correct anything needing correcting.
Our service is dominated by the word of God, we engage in the public reading of scripture, we sing the Psalms, and we practice a scripture infused liturgy. We dance and celebrate the Eucharist every week. And we do this all in homes throughout the city of Englewood.
Everyone is welcome at Christ the Anchor Church. Each week we meet in a different home, location and details for the upcoming Sunday are listed on the home page typically by Thursday before the service.